This whole theme is particularly poetic because it plays on what’s already magic about kids and toys: There is so much happening that an observer can’t see. In a very real sense, toys are already surrounded by layers of augmented reality. But the technology that powers it isn’t fancy goggles; it’s just imagination.

I remember playing with Transformers and other assorted robots as a kid and being impatient for the “toy fugue state” to kick in. Like reading a book, you know? There’s a big difference between the moment after you’ve just opened a book — just-reading-each-word-in-order — and the cruising speed that comes later, when the pages have melted away and something totally different is happening with your eyes and your brain.

The same thing exactly would happen to me as I “got in the groove” of playing with toys. It was sorta like flow for kids! Does this ring a bell with anybody else? Any similar experiences?